Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Elephant
Ryker
I stood above Evan, resting my hands beneath the Olympic bar as he pushed it away from his chest. His pecks expanded as he exhaled heavily. We were at the tail end of a weight session, and the fatigue was starting to set in.
“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” I checked.
“Nine,” he grunted.
Evan was signed to the same marketing agency as me. Outside of football, his Ken-doll appearance had helped him to land a few campaigns and ads. He loved being in front of the camera, unlike yours truly.
We had a bye this weekend and our publicists were making the most of it. We were shooting a commercial for a new energy drink. Some low calorie, high protein, sugar-free recipe.
While Evan had booked the gig without trying the drink first, I’d made sure I didn’t hate the taste before committing.
I couldn’t vouch for something I didn’t believe in.
I’d also made Ruby test it out when she was down for Senior Night.
Somehow, despite the exclusions and inclusions, it was still delicious.
I used to find all the social media and press uncomfortable. Being in front of a camera had never felt natural until Ruby gave me the simplest advice.
“Just be your charming self, Wheels. That shit will sell.”
To this day, I still whispered those same words to myself before stepping outside of my comfort zone. Though if I could work out a deal where I got to play football and Evan did all the personality bits, I’d take it.
The commercial wasn’t until Monday, but Evan had decided we’d make a weekend of it. He had our entire schedule planned out. A club tomorrow night, the pool Sunday to sober up, followed by a solid dinner so we weren’t hungover for Monday’s shoot.
There were other college athletes flying in for it too. Evan had been chatting with a volleyball player travelling from Arizona. She was meeting us at the club tomorrow night. I’m sure Evan had every intention of turning this business trip into pleasure.
Once he was done with his set, I lifted the bar back before switching places. This was my final round of the day.
“Let’s set some ground rules,” he began as I wrapped my hands around the bar. “Or at least some signals. If one of us says elephant, it means the other needs to vacate the hotel room for at least an hour.”
Brady glanced up while foam rolling on the ground. “Why elephant?”
“It’s what I call my dick.”
Pat barked out a laugh from where he was spotting Kyler on the bench beside us. “Why the fuck do you call it elephant?”
“Because it’s a huge trunk,” Evan answered.
Chuckling under my breath, I lifted the bar above my chest and started my set. I was at my max weight and feeling gassed, but I pushed through the exhaustion. One more effort and I was done.
Despite the cool temperature outside, I was a sweaty mess. Moisture was building between my pecks and across my abdomen, so much so that people might think I was oiled up. I’d never touched the stuff – couldn’t say the same about Evan though.
“What about if you both pull a girl?” Kyler checked.
“I’ll happily share.” Evan leaned forward, winking at me over the bar. “And swap if you’re into that.”
I didn’t put it past him. It’s not like he hadn’t been open to things like that in the past.
In junior year, we’d both tried picking up the same female soccer player at a frat party. Rather than one of us backing off, we’d stayed on her all night, telling her she could decide who took her home. When she’d suggested we all go home – together – Evan had been more than game.
I’ll admit, I’d been close to agreeing until a call from Ruby had interrupted.
She’d been hyped on adrenaline after reviving a man who’d had a heart attack at the cinema.
By the time I got off the phone, Evan’s tongue had been down the soccer player’s throat, and I hadn’t been keen on playing catch-up.
I shifted my head. “No thanks. I don’t want to give you or your trunk an inferiority complex.”
Evan glared. “Maybe don’t insult my dick while I’m spotting you.”
Once my set was done, I sat up, using my towel to wipe the sweat off my forehead.
The football team had taken over the whole weights area of the athlete’s gym.
There were still other sporting teams around the place though.
The hockey team were partway through a conditioning session which looked fucking gruelling, even to me.
Grace Hughes was with her swimming team, stretching in the recovery area.
And Gretchen and her cheerleading squad were warming up on the mat floor.
I’d felt Gretchen’s gaze on me my entire workout. Earlier she’d purposely stretched within my line of sight, making sure to show off her flexibility. I’ll admit, the height she got her leg was very very tempting.
While New Year’s Eve was a little blurry, the morning after wasn’t, and it had been really good.
A little loud on her part, but good nonetheless.
I was partly convinced some of her noises were more about hearing her own voice than experiencing that much pleasure.
I trusted my abilities in the sheets and was confident I’d shown her a good time, but her breathy moans had implied she’d been mid-orgasm during the whole thing.
“Your phone’s going off,” Brady said, throwing it at me.
I was so gassed I nearly dropped it.
After turning it the right way, I caught sight of Ruby’s incoming FaceTime. I answered without hesitating.
“Hey, Rubz. What’s–”
“I need you to delete our entire message train without asking me any questions.”
She rushed out the words, panting like she’d just crossed the finish line of a marathon. Behind her glasses, her eyes were wide in angst, and her cheeks were tinged bright red.
Of course I was going to ask questions.
“Why?”
“Because...” She sank her teeth into her shaking lower lip. “I accidentally sent you a picture intended for Noah.”
That admission caused my body to feel a million different emotions all at once. Before I could figure any of them out, Evan was snatching my phone out of my hands.
“I’ll give you ten thousand dollars for a copy of whatever that photo is, Ruby.”
I stole my phone back, purposely shoving Evan away as I did.
Ruby’s eyes widened even further, if that was possible. “Are you still in the gym, Wheels?”
I swallowed. “Mmhm.”
“Fuck, Ryker. How many other people are listening?”
Ryker. Ouch.
My gaze flicked around anxiously, answering her question – more people than she probably wanted to hear.
I couldn’t help that I was mid-training. It wasn’t my fault she’d sent a naked photo to me by mistake. I mean, I was guessing that’s what the picture was. That or something close to it.
Something unexplainable pulsed in my chest. The thought of Ruby posing and taking a photo like that was kind of... hot. Which was a fucking concerning feeling. I’d never associated Ruby and hot.
I was way too keyed up from my gym session. It was a shame we had a team dinner after this, otherwise I’d be tempted to march over to Gretchen and fuck her in my car before I exploded.
“Rubz–”
“God, could this get any worse? Whatever. Please just promise me you’ll delete it without looking.”
“Can I delete it without deleting our entire message chain?”
Her brow lowered. “I don’t know. Why does that matter?”
“Because I...”
I trailed off, well aware I held the focus of my four best friends. They were nosily listening, curious to hear where I was going with that.
Given I already received a hefty amount of shit for my friendship with Ruby, I wasn’t about to add to their leverage. But the truth was, mine and Ruby’s conversation history was full of years of memories. I didn’t want to erase it.
“I’ll promise you this,” I vowed. “I swear on my life, and yours, and football that I won’t open the message. I’ll give my phone to Tori and have her delete it.”
Ruby held my gaze for a moment, searching for any flicker of a lie beneath the surface. I’d never lied to her – not once. Sure, there were things I hadn’t told her, just like I’m sure there were things she’d kept from me, but never a straight-up lie.
“Whatever,” she grumbled.
Then she hung up.
I gripped my phone in my hand, partly expecting Evan to wrestle it from me. I might be gassed, but if it came down to him getting a glimpse of the picture, I’d be able to summon the energy to kick his ass.
Beneath my fingertips, the unopened photo seemed to vibrate with an unexplainable pull, almost like it was summoning me to look and see what Ruby was wearing – or what she wasn’t wearing.
A twisted part of me wished I’d opened her message before getting the order to delete it. She couldn’t have gotten mad if I’d innocently seen it by mistake.
I’d never considered that part of Ruby’s life, one where she sent racy photos to her boyfriend, and where she received them, likely leading to phone sex and – stop.
That was a rabbit hole I couldn’t afford to trip into.
Kyler sat up, completely deserting his workout. “Surely you’re not deleting it.”
“Oh he’s deleting it,” Brady snickered. “There’s no way he’d be able to face Ruby again if he saw it.”
To avoid temptation, I threw my phone to my cousin. Ever a receiver, he caught it with ease.
He was the only one I trusted to do the right thing. There wasn’t a chance he would open that message. Firstly, he was too smitten with Tori to be tempted. And secondly, if he did, Tori would make him regret it.
Evan groaned. “All I’ll say is this. I’ve never met Ruby’s boyfriend, but I guarantee he doesn’t deserve that picture.”
I’d met him. And for some reason foreign to me, I found myself agreeing.